Around a month ago, I suddenly noticed that I needed a treadmill. In the past, I was an extremely active individual. This was largely due to the type of work that I did. Now, I am in a sedentary work environment, and spend a good portion of my day sitting in front of a glowing screen. I get home at 7:15, and am ready to eat. I could work out instead, but who wants to turn down a meal? My apartment complex has a gym, but I never get around to using it, largely because of the following line of reasoning:
- I’m tired when I get home from work. Yeah, it’s that simple. Some days the distance from my car to the top of my stairs seems never- ending. I just want to my laptop on the couch and zone out for an hour-or-three.
- It’s a long way from my apartment to the clubhouse. I am unabashedly lazy on this point. It is a long way. I just don’t feel like getting dressed in workout clothes, walking down there, and working out next to the 6′3″ ex-Navy SEAL. Sorry. This might seem ironic, or counterintuitive, but that is just the way it is.
- My gym is really small. This is the kicker. I despise going all the way down to the gym, only to find out that I will either have to wait for the equipment, or walk all the way back to my apartment. You can’t get onto the cardio equipment at my clubhouse before 9:30pm. Who wants to walk down there that late at night to exercise. I TIVO’d “The Office”. I want to watch “The Office”, not listen to 90’s metal.
With that pitiful line of reasoning, I was able to convince my lovely wife that I needed a treadmill. It was not hard to sway her, as she had recently tried to sign us up for a gym membership(at a place that is even farther away from our apartment), to the tune of 800-and-some-odd dollars. A few bucks more for a treadmill was not out of the question. Since we managed to come to an agreement on actually purchasing some equipment, we then turned to what we wanted in a treadmill.
The spec list went something like this:
- It has to be a folding treadmill. Since our lavish apartment lifestyle gave us the bare minimum of space to work with, we decided on this as our primary decider.
- It has to be quiet. My parents bought a treadmill some time ago, and it was one of the noisiest machines I had ever heard. We did not want to have to purchase a separate speaker system just to watch some television while exercising.
- It has to be of high quality. We were planning on putting out some reasonable cash for this thing. We wanted a strong motor, a good warranty, and a sturdy deck to walk/run on. That was it.
Armed with this information, we set out for the marketplace of all quality information: Google. There was the usual marketing-speak from the treadmill companies, affiliate programs, and fake customer praise, but nothing of any substance. Finally, in exasperation, I went to the Consumer Reports and paid out the $30 necessary to gain access to their reviews. Their “Best Buy” was the Bowflex 7 Series, which is actually made by Nautilus.
I generally trust Consumer Reports implicitly, but I wanted to check out the field a little more before settling on the Bowflex. CR is a great organization, but they don’t test every single model, every single time. I decided to see what other treadmills were going head-to-head with the 7 series. When I hunted around a little, I found two other treadmills that it was consistently paired with: The Smooth 6.25 and the Sole F80.
All of them promised what I was looking for: A large, folding deck, a quiet treadbelt, and a good warranty. They each had powerful motors, along with really good cushioning. What was a guy to do? Originally, I had the idea of paring them down by price, but there really wasn’t that much difference there, either. The Smooth 6.25 came in at just under $1400. The Sole and Bowflex were just south of $1500. Eventually, I just started eliminating them by reputation. I did not find many people who had bought the Smooth treadmill. With a lack of any actual owners providing feedback, this treadmill couldn’t help but slowly drop in my esteem. While their website was highly attractive, the machine itself was cosmetically ugly, save the console, which boasted some really attractive, blue LED’s.
Finding the home of Sole Fitness was a little harder, as they barely place in the top 10 of any search results for their own name. They did have some impressive things to say about their product, and it’s purpose. It seems that Sole’s folding treadmills, of which the F80 is a member, were designed for frequent use in hotels. Even more impressive was the prestigious hotel who has deployed them chain wide: Hilton. If a multi-billion dollar enterprise like Hilton was putting all their chips on a single brand, then it was quite possible I should. I still wasn’t completely convinced, but the Sole was rising in my estimation, even as Smooth’s treadmill fell.
What about the Bowflex? Here’s where the story turns. I found plenty of people who were willing to testify about the quality of the 7 series machine, but it seemed like the company was a bit ashamed about this particular treadmill. They didn’t bother to give it a listing on their main website, and their parent company, Nautilus, didn’t show it listed on theirs, either. Then, I began running through negative remarks on their product. The complaints were all the same: Poor customer service. As anyone can tell you, it doesn’t matter whether or not they offer the lifetime warranty. The only thing that matters is how difficult they make it to place a claim on that warranty. Their were horror stories of wrong parts, miscommunication, and general incompetence scattered throughout these complaints. That, coupled with the trouble of actually finding it on Bowflex’s website, killed the 7 series for me. These people didn’t want me to find their product, and they certainly didn’t want me to buy it.
So great was the change, that the Smooth 6.25 actually jumped back in the running for a few minutes. Thankfully, it didn’t stay there long, as reports of great customer service from the Sole Fitness reps eventually pulled me back. The one review that sticks out in my mind the most, was a guy that had actually made a mistake in hooking the display up. Sole sent him a new display, even though he made the error. Pretty sweet.
Our minds were made up. We ordered the treadmill through Amazon, and received it in a little over 7 days. It is far better than expected, so let me run through the positive experiences we have had with this gem, and a few words of caution as well.
- It’s heavy/solid. Hope you’ve been hitting the gym before it shows up. This thing weighs in at just under 260 lbs. We were unfortunate enough to carry this up the flight of stairs in our apartment. Pray that this is going on the first floor, or get at least three people to help you move it. I’m not kidding. Once in place, you have no doubt that this thing is well constructed. It goes together using a minimum of bolts and screws. Any tools you need are thoughtfully included, and completely adequate.
- The documentation is poor in places. Some of the assembly diagrams for this thing are pretty obscure. It’ll probably take you a few minutes to figure out where things go when attaching the screws along the base. They really should include close-ups of this particular part. Other than that, it’s a breeze to assemble. You’ll still want to have another person present to give you a hand with the display console. It’s weight and size would easily snap the wire harnesses attached if you dropped it.
- It has a ton of really well thought-out features. From fans that provide just enough air, to hydraulic decks and built-in, powered speakers for my mp3 player, there’s always something to get excited about. It also includes a wireless heart/pulse monitor that seems to be very rugged, although I don’t personally care to use it.
- The pre-defined programs are only so-so. I like workout programs, as they break the monotony of straight-forward, single-speed workouts. Variable incline settings are what I like most, so it came as a bit of a shock that I could not adjust the Max incline for that workout. They have provided for my complaint with a fairly easy to program “User” setting. There are, in fact, two of them. Once there, I can program my own workout with a minimum of fuss, and anxiety. Seriously, it’s not bad at all.
- It’s quiet. I haven’t had to turn up the TV even once, even with it running at 6 or 7 mph. It’s extremely quiet. A warning: When we first received it, we thought we had received a defective belt, because there was loud flopping noise each time the belt seam passed over the rollers. We didn’t call support right away, because we thought the belt needed to be worked in. Sure enough, the noise took care of itself in less than 24 hours.
- The warranty is incredible. It has a lifetime warranty on the deck and motor, umpteen years on other parts, and 2 years of labor. I don’t anticipate needing any of this, excluding a new belt, for the life of my treadmill. It’s nice to know they are backing me up if I need it, though.
So there you go. I found a treadmill that met and exceeded all of my expectations. It’s quiet, reliable, and my wife and I love using it.
Should you buy a Sole F80? If you do your due diligence, you will find many other people recommending this product, not just me. It’s a quality product, backed up by a quality company. If you find that you can’t wait to get one after reading this article, and you don’t mind paying a little more for convenience, head down to your local Dick’s Sporting Goods to try one out.
Sorry to cut this short… but my treadmill is staring at me, and I feel the urge to go work out.
Kurt Hartman is a happy consumer who wants to force his opinion on you.
They let him do this at his job regularly, so you will forgive him for falling into bad habits. Incidentally, they sell giant tires, something wholly unrelated to the health and fitness field. He prays you won’t devalue his opinion because of this.
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